MANILA — The Presidential Task Force on Education Reforms (PTFE) has released the initial recommendations recently of a month-long study and discussion among higher education institutions (HEIs) that would entail wide-ranging reforms from the basic to the tertiary level of education in the country.

During the consultative meeting with the tertiary education sector at National Capital Region (NCR) and Luzon, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairman Dr. Emmanuel Angeles, said the recommendations are part of the strategic plan that the task force will submit to Malacañang next month.

"We are planning to consult with our stakeholders and get their reactions about our concerns and proposals which are all geared towards making Philippine education, both at the basic and tertiary level, competitive with the rest of the world. We are starting the national consultation this month, and hopefully by December we could already submit the final reports and recommendations to the President for approval," Angeles said.

The plan has four major concerns, namely, faculty development, facilities development, scholarship for poor students, and strengthening the research capability of higher educational institutions.

He said priority will be given to teachers' pre-service training, licensure examination, and reserving some courses only for those with a master's degree.

The four are part and parcel of the recommendations of the task force that will be discussed during the nationwide summit namely the: Establishment of a National Coordinating Council on education; rationalization within a moratorium period of the creation and conversion of state universities and colleges; re-orienting the premises of financing public higher education; establishment of a one-year pre-baccalaureate system;

Typologies of post-secondary institutions; faculty development at the tertiary level; strengthening teacher's competencies at the basic education level; expanding options for the medium of instruction in Grade I through the use of the regional lingua franca; establishment of the National Educational Evaluation and Testing System (NEETS); establishing common standard for accreditation per discipline and Curricular reform in higher education.

Angeles said if all things goes as plan, the reforms will be in place by 2010.

"We have to institute the necessary reforms if we want our education system to be at par with our neighbors and the rest of the world," the CHED chair said.

Aside from CHED, other members of the task force were the Department of Education (DepEd), Technological Skills and Development Authority (TESDA), Professional Regulation Commssion (PRC) Philippine Chambers of Commerce Industry (PCCI) and Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA).

It was created by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through an Executive Order issued last August with the task of formulating reforms and other measures needed to improve the quality of education in the country. (PNA)

Source: news.balita.ph